Ferrari wins consecutive Engine of the Year Awards with 3.9-litre biturbo V8

FERRARI has claimed the International Engine of the Year (IEOTY) Award for the second year in a row with its twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8 fending off challenges from the likes of Porsche’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat six found in the 911, and the 2015-winning BMW 1.5-litre three-cylinder hybrid powerplant underpinning the i8.

Also taking the crown in the 3.0- to 4.0-litre engine and Performance engine segments, the F154CB donk was commended as “probably the best turbocharged engine ever” by IEOTY Awards co-chairman Dean Slavnich.

“This blend of heart-thumping performance on both road and track, with a glorious V8 Maranello rumble and an ultra-sophisticated design that’s loaded with advanced technologies, makes the Ferrari V8 unbeatable for another year,” he said.

Under the hood of the 488 GTB and Spider, the stonking force-fed V8 produces a hefty 492kW/760Nm, while in the slightly less potent California T, output is lowered to a still-formidable 412kW/755Nm.

The Italian V8 tallied 251 total votes in the Engine of the Year segment, ahead of the Porsche flat six (216), BMW hybrid three-pot (151), Audi’s aluminium block 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder (139), and Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine (136) – which took out three consecutive titles from 2012 to 2014.

Engine awards were also split into sub-categories, sorted by displacement as well as categories for the best pure electric powertrain, electrified engine, performance engine and best newcomer.

The sub-1.0-litre title was won by the Ford EcoBoost unit, which made IEOTY history by not only winning the segment for the sixth consecutive year, but by also becoming the first ever powertrain to win its category every year that it has been nominated.

With 254 votes, it pipped the 1.0-litre VW Group turbo three-pot from the Audi A1 (241) and 0.6-litre two-cylinder engine in the BMW i3 94Ah range extender (123).

The 1.0- to 1.4-litre category was won by the PSA Group 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo unit seen in a number of Peugeot and Citroen models including the 308 hatchback and C4 Cactus crossover, winning in a canter with 239 votes.

Claiming its third straight segment title, it trumped the BMW Group 1.2-litre three-pot from the Mini One (154) and 1.4-litre VW Group TFSI four-cylinder used in multiple models (115).

The i8 hybrid unit took out the 1.4- to 1.8-litre class with 157 votes, marking the Bavarian unit’s third consecutive triumph since launching in 2015.

Runners up were another BMW engine – the 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo found in BMW and Mini models (128), and Audi’s 1.8-litre TFSI engine (103).

After winning the 1.8- to 2.0-litre category last year, Mercedes-AMG’s 2.0-litre turbo-four was trumped by compatriot Porsche’s 2.0-litre unit in the 718 Boxster and Cayman by just six votes (182 to 176), followed by the VW Group 2.0-litre TFSI (164) found in a multitude of models including the Golf R.

Audi continued its absolute domination of the 2.0- to 2.5-litre class with its updated 2.5-litre turbo five-pot tallying 357 votes for its eighth win since launching in 2010.

Porsche’s 2.5-litre turbo-four, found in the 718 Cayman S and Boxster S, finished second (276), while Ford’s 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine in the Focus RS rounded out the top three (172).

The 2.5- to 3.0-litre class was easily won by Porsche and its 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat six from the 911 with 310 votes, after narrowly winning the segment in its debut last year.

BMW’s twin-turbo inline six cylinder in the M3 and M4 finished second with 135 votes, while the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 under the hood of the new M3-hunting Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio finished in third place (114).

Ferrari’s overall winner finished first in the 3.0- to 4.0-litre engine category with 345 votes, followed by the Mercedes-AMG 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 found in a range of AMG vehicles (204) and Porsche’s highly-strung aspirated 4.0-litre six-pot boxer engine found in the 911 GT3, GT3 RS and R (174).

The above 4.0-litre category saw more success for Maranello, with its 6.3-litre V12 in the F12 eking out its second consecutive victory in the class, which would have been five straight if not for the Prancing Horse’s 4.5-litre V8 which won in 2014 and 2015.

Tesla’s innovative fully-electric powertrain from the Model S and Model X won the electric powertrain segment with 325 votes, marking the first year IEOTY has dedicated a class to purely electric models.

It beat out the BMW i3 with 212 votes, with General Motors’ all-electric powertrain used in the Chevrolet Bolt rounding out the top three (169).

The Green engine category, which includes fully electric and hybrid powertrains, was again won by Tesla for the fourth consecutive time with 202 votes, followed by the i8 engine (143) and Bolt powerplant (105).

To no-one’s surprise, the Performance engine category was won by the Ferrari 3.9-litre V8 for the third year running with 247 votes, trumping the Porsche 4.0-litre boxer (159) and Mercedes-AMG’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 (85).

The final category, the best new engine, was won by Honda’s high-tech 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 hybrid found in the NSX supercar, which tallied 143 votes.

In second place was Mercedes-Benz’s 2.0-litre turbo-diesel unit in the new E-Class (116), which beat Alfa’s 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 by a single vote.